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Good enough to eat

Elizabeth Swinbank

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This article shows how the physical testing of food ingredients and products can be used as a starting point for exploring aspects of physics. The three main areas addressed are: mechanical properties of solid materials; liquid flow; optical techniques for measuring sugar concentration. The activities described were originally developed for students aged 16–19 following the Salters Horners Advanced Physics (SHAP) course, but some can be adapted for use with younger pupils.


PACS

01.50.-i Educational aids

66.20.-d Viscosity of liquids; diffusive momentum transport

89.20.Bb Industrial and technological research and development

78.20.Ci Optical constants (including refractive index, complex dielectric constant, absorption, reflection and transmission coefficients, emissivity)

62.20.Qp Friction, tribology, and hardness

Subjects

Soft matter, liquids and polymers

Condensed matter: electrical, magnetic and optical

Condensed matter: structural, mechanical & thermal

Education and communication

Dates

Issue 1 (January 2004)

Received 14 October 2003



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